Launch Tennessee is bringing its Invest Tennessee Road Tour to Cookeville Tuesday to connect local entrepreneurs with financial education and investment opportunities.
Launch Tennessee CEO Lindsey Cox said the organization is traveling across the state to discuss the InvestTN program with support from the Nasdaq Foundation and Pinnacle Financial Partners. The stops allow the organization to explain equity investments and financial strategies to Tennessee-based startups and founders.
“But as part of the InvestTN road tour and we call these stops our Capital Conversations, as part of these Capital Conversation stops we really get to talk about the program, about equity investment, what kind of companies may want to consider equity investment, but also the other kind of side of financials for businesses,” Cox said. “So everything from why you want to have a great relationship with a banker and how to set that up to maybe you’re considering loan capital or a line of credit and you know who should you be talking to about that and what kind of information are they going to be looking for.”
Cox is a graduate of Cookeville High School and Tennessee Tech who maintains personal ties to Livingston and Dale Hollow Lake.
The free event will take place at 37 Cedar and includes food and drinks for attendees. Cox said the gathering is hosted in partnership with The Biz Foundry, the regional entrepreneur center for the area.
“But I would say who should attend this, really any founder or any small business owner who wants to get a little more educated about what their capital options are or wants to learn more about having that relationship with a banking partner,” Cox said. “So if you’re building a business in Cookeville we would love to see you out there.”
The InvestTN program manages a $70 million equity investment fund designed to help Tennessee businesses grow and scale. Cox said the fund writes checks ranging from $25,000 up to $3 million for companies interested in equity investment.
“Yeah, certainly so for companies that really have high-scale potential that they’ve got a great idea or a fantastic product or a tech-enabled business that they’re looking to take from zero to sixty as quickly as possible those businesses generally are considering an equity investment,” Cox said. “Now if it’s a business that’s looking for more of that I’ll call it slow and steady and maybe doesn’t want to get into the venture capital side then a loan capital line of credit etc may be a good option for them and we will have our partners at Pathway Lending talking about those programs as well.”
She said the event welcomes founders from across the Upper Cumberland, including Overton, Pickett, and Van Buren counties.
“I know how many amazing businesses are in the region and how many new ideas are circulating and potential founders are in the area especially with the ties to Tennessee Tech,” Cox said. “And so I think getting people educated and more access about all of their financial options as they’re considering building their business is just really important.”
The team at Launch Tennessee will be joined by representatives from Pathway Lending and Pinnacle Financial Partners at the upcoming event.